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The Miracle Worker by North Coast Repertory Theatre  At less than two years old, scarlet fever left Helen Keller
blind, deaf, and mute – her only perception of the world being through touch
and smells. Considering that, perhaps it is just a miracle that she still
learned to communicate basic wants and understand the rules of the household
through the nods and shakes of her parents’ heads, which she felt with her
hands. But frustrated and cut off from the world in a lonely prison that we can
scarcely comprehend, Helen was not very fond of following those rules. She
rebelled with daily tantrums, refusing to do anything she did not want to do,
and the Keller household let her have her way, feeling that spoiling her was
the least she deserved – and the easiest way to get along.
But the Kellers had not yet given up on improving their daughter’s life. Captain Keller, an affluent and influential community leader, asked a certain teacher of the deaf for his advice – Mr. Alexander Graham Bell. Bell pointed him to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, and they sent the Kellers one of their students to instruct Helen. On March 3, 1887, when Helen was not quite seven years old, Annie Sullivan arrived at the Keller’s home in Alabama. Annie was only twenty years old herself, and had also been blind, regaining partial sight through nine eye operations. The story of Annie’s efforts, and her unbelievable success, is truly one of the most inspirational success stories of humankind, and “Miracle Worker” seems to almost belittle her achievement. Through Annie’s determination and Helen’s intelligence and desire to learn, Helen Keller experienced a fuller and more beautiful life than those with all their senses could hope for, and paved the way to educating thousands of deaf and blind people over the past century.
Rob Hopper San Diego Playbill ~ Cast ~
Viney: Jonna Harrison Aunt Ev: Rachel Holland Helen: Abbey Grace Howe Annie Sullivan: D. Candis Paule Kate: Kathryn Lee Moss James: Sean McStravick Captain Keller: T.V. Reeves Alternate Helen: Kara Tsukashima Martha: Catherine J. Webb Director: Carolyn Keith Technical Director and Set Design: Marty Burnett Lighting Designer: Chris Rynne Costume Designer: Corey Johnston Sound Designer: George Ye Stage Manager: Scott Hall |
North Coast Repertory Theatre is staging a touching and
heartfelt reenactment of those fateful weeks when Annie and Helen squared off
in a battle of wills with Helen’s future at stake. Director Carolyn Keith
put together an excellent cast headed by D. Candis Paule as Annie
Sullivan and Abbey Grace Howe as Helen. An extremely difficult and
demanding role, sixth-grader Abbey offers a remarkable performance as she
completely fuses with her part, becoming the blind, deaf, and mute Helen with
all her tantrums and concerted efforts to live in a world so devoid of
communication. D. Candis Paule is captivating as her young teacher who so
desperately wants to win the war between her and Helen and bring the light of
words into Helen’s dark world. Feeling that the only way to reach her is if she
can be alone with her, she is allowed two weeks. Annie’s desperation to reach
her pupil reaches its peak when Captain Keller’s deadline comes to an end, with
Annie frantically spelling words into Helen’s hands, begging for her to
understand, while Helen seems to be tantalizingly close to making the
connection between the repeated spelling into her hand, and that the spellings
actually symbolize the objects that she is touching.